Beth-Ann wrote the other day with a link to the Minneapolis contemporary furniture design company, Blu Dot. This is the quirky local firm that announced the opening of its Manhattan store a year and a half ago by abandoning several dozen chairs on the street corners of New York just to see what would happen.
Now Blu Dot is trying a new technique to get its furniture into the hands of customers – barter. Online barter, with voting. They’re calling it a Swap Meet.
Here’s how it works – you go to the company’s website, find a piece of furniture you covet, and then propose to trade something for it. Other readers have the opportunity to endorse your offer (or not).
Fun gimmick, and it’s interesting to see what people think they have that’s worth a fold out bed or a futuristic looking metal chair. I’m most impressed with Kirk McCall’s offer of some authentic, artistic 17th century sound effect machines (for opera) in exchange for a sofa. Invaluable, especially if you’re about to produce an opera in a venue without electricity! Blu Dot has already accepted a proposal to trade a sectional for a full sized motorcycle sculpture made out of 9,000 popsicle sticks. Smart move.
I wrote about Blu Dot for The Line and KFAI, and as part of my research visited the company’s one retail outlet in the Twin Cities, a little store called Roam, across the street from the International Design Center in Minneapolis. Of course the thing I found that I liked the most was an expansive, futuristic desk called Desk 51 – physically solid and heavy but visually light and sleek. Unfortunately, I can’t think of a thing I have that’s worth $699 in trade, unless it’s fawning publicity, and I’ve already delivered that for free.
Besides, there might be ethical concerns. A few.
Speaking of barter, it’s time once again to offer an opportunity for you to trade your writing and your unique perspective on the world for fantastically valuable rewards – my gratitude and the rapt attention of your fellow baboons. I’m hoping to run a string of guest blogs during the week of March 21st. Sherrilee and Barbara in Robbinsdale have already submitted some excellent posts. Four more will get us through the week.
Any takers? You can e-mail me directly at connelly.dale@gmail.com
UPDATE: Clyde, tim, Beth-Ann and Jim have stepped forward. We’re set for the March guest spots. Thanks, bartering baboons!
What goods and services have you exchanged through barter?
Trail Baboon 
Rise and Shine Baboons!
I’ve bartered many things–pet sitting with the neighbors, tarot card readings, cataloging books for a friend for art studio time, babysitting back in the day–and on and on. It is a great system that only breaks down if a barterer does not honor the barter in return. There is just no collection system for non-payment of bartered items.
Another new career path!
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Morning all… quick post before the pc goes off and put away for a day or so during construction. I’ll have to keep up on the work computer.
I wish I could have bartered for somebody to do all the work getting ready for this project, but I also don’t have much stuff to trade. I’m good w/ bartering services… in my neighborhood there is lots of this kind of thing – snowblowing, grass cutting, dog watching, etc. I’m also good at bringing over a hot dish and picking up the mail when needed!
Morning all!
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what a great idea! thanks, Dale.
some barters we’ve done:
a “speed date” with T for 6 pounds of veal and goat meat
a visit with T (longer stay than a speed date) for partial payment of new doelings (Kona and Lassi)
Dodger and her kids to new home – we were paid in “pastured pork” products 🙂
summer share (about 30 gallons) of goat milk for a half share in a veggie CSA (we’ll do that again this year)
goat milk or cheese in return for help on the farm
soap and cajeta to our hay farmer for delivery
it’d take a lot of milk and cheese to pay for a $699 desk!
a gracious good morning to You All
we’re off to get our taxes done this morning. Steve is so organized that it is always very easy for the tax preparer – wonder if we should offer her goat products instead of money????
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Would Steve like to barter out his organizational skills?
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Good morning, all.
I used to participate in weekend long trading events at Etsy, trading prints of, linen postcards of, and other items made from my photographs for all kinds of goodies. Homemade bread, handmade jewelry, vintage sewing patterns, vintage posters & prints, soap, body butter, others’ artwork, handmade granite coasters, etc. The idea was to stay logged into Etsy for as much of the weekend as possible, browsing the shops of the participants on the thread, and making trades through the note system. Each trade was recorded on the thread created for the weekend of trading. It was a lot of fun, and you got to see a lot of shops and take away a lot of interesting finds.
Of course, my husband used to trade my tech support to neighbors for snow blowing, but since I am not the person in the family who shovels, I fail to see how this particular barter benefited me in any way. 😉
Have a great day!
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hey evonique, ill bet the same attention to barter opportunities would land you a chair or two on the swap meet site. i particularly like the spork collection that was accepted for the rocker.
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some pretty incongruous trading going on. 🙂
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Well, if hubby ever breaks a leg or has a major surgery during a winter like this one, the barter for snowblowing services might suddenly look like a good deal for you!
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I have able bodied sons. 🙂
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Evonique is kinda like equavouge isn’t it?
Both have a q.
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Good morning to all.
I think bartering is a good thing, but I am not making much use of it. I sort of do some bartering as a Seed Saver, but mostly I pay at a reduced rate to get seeds from other seed savers which is a little different from bartering. Seed Saver Exchange members who offer seeds to other members pay less to get seeds from other members than the members who don’t offer seeds to other members.
I participate in seed swaps where I offer seeds that I have that I don’t need to any one who wants them. At these swaps some other seed savers might have some seeds I want that I can have at no cost. Usually I only find one or two kinds of seeds that I want at a seed swap and give way many packets of seeds, but I do get to talk to a lot of gardeners and learn a lot from these conversations.
I think Trail Baboon is a little like a seed swap where the most important exchange is the conversation that goes on between participants.
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Yes, and rare bits of information you can’t probably find anywhere else! (See yesterday.)
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I have a friend who’s building a custom bathroom vanity for me in exchange for upkeep of some shrubbery, mainly spirea.
When I do petsitting for friends, the usual payment is lunch or dinner. This always seems like an appropriate exchange, because although the food isn’t a cash payment, the petsitting isn’t really work, either.
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if you ever want to petsit my 3 dogs for a week let me know. i will furnish more sandwich makings than you can imagine.
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i had a friend who would live for the barter momnent. he had script (thats what they call it) for more weekends at best western hotels worldwide than he was able to spend. we ate free everywhere he went, he had a room full on odds and ends including a corner of battteries double wrapped to go into a camera or something, stereo speakers, remote control airplanes. a two year rent agreement for a 5 office suite in ohare area of chicago, it was really fun to watch. i ran into an artists printer … the guy who ran the machines to print limited editions for some of the reallly good artists in the country and he got paid with money and a fistfull of artists proofs form many years of doing this. i offered to barter the inventory for him and turn it into fun stuff or to buy it outright and negotiate my own deal. he was very interested but then moved to a diffferent town and never finalized the deal. left me thinking though.
one of the most fun vacations i ever had was wehen a friend invited me down to atlanta during the olympics in 96 and when i got there he said have fun see ya… i was left to my owen devices and had a blast going down to the olympic hubub ibn downtown atlanta with a starting sum of 300 or 400 dollars and buying tickets to events and keeping one for myself. i got to the point where i had 50 tickets and pockets full of money and i just kept going it was as much fun as going to the events. it is unbelievable how many event in the olympics you have never heard of and make no sense whatsoever. i did get to go to the gokld metal womens basketball game and sit next to lisa leslies mom for the whole game . that was a kick. the gold metal soccer game an hour outside of town took some doing but was wonderful.. nigeria woin in a huge upset and the nigerians went wild. brazil was a snotty bunch of brats and refused to even come out for the 3rd place metals. i stayed in town until the last train ran out to the burbs where i parked my suitcase. i would get in about 2 am and be gone again about 6 am to the next day of bartering and going to venues. i got in trouble for leaving my back pack stashed under the stage at the bob dylan concert three ort four days after the bomb went off in the olympic park and had every one in security real nervous. hey remember trading baseball cards… my kids school made trading cards and action figures an illeagal action because the parents were getting upset that the kids would trade their good stuff for someone elses bad stuff,. it was pretty funny.
i missed yesterdays blog due to a tough schedule. thanks for the laughs. i had 4 or 5 out loud gaffaws from the goodies in there. from now on i see george w and i see a snake and i see dick cheney and see scat. gotta love it
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I like the balance of this one: before our trip we bartered an antique table for a GPS.
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Useful and symbolic – nice!
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A friend of mine barters fanfiction for collectibles. Fans of a particular show who want to see a particular scenario (for instance, a birthday party that ends with a kiss for their OTP a/k/a One True Pairing) send her their requests and proposed swap, she writes a page to five page story, and she gets a tie-in comic book or sticker sheet or, once, a Colorforms set (they still smelled like Colorforms, too, 20 years after the show was canceled!). Wish I’d figured that system out while I was still heavily into media fandoms, but I also write MUCH slower than she does.
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I can see where that would be a great swap for a lot of fans waiting for their OTP (though I’d rather be on the side getting the Colorforms…they do have a fabulous aroma…).
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CG – I have a friend who does fanfic… wonder if she ever barters?
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If she doesn’t know about it, tell her! My friend has only ever posted on fanfiction.net and found an active fandom, but a lot of it happens on LiveJournal and DeviantArt.
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Except for the usual barters (I’ll give you beer if you help me move, I’ll help you paint if you help me with this other oddball project), I have lived a fairly barter-free life. Really wish I had something good to barter for one of those chairs, though – they look spiffy. Hmm…wonder if I could barter my 18 lb, diabetic cat for one…(he’s cute, but doesn’t compare to a motorcycle made out of popsicle sticks – *that’s* cool).
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Lots of barter – When I had my little book business, it was actually in trade for receptionist help. I worked the reception desk 3 days a week at my friend Dianha’s hair salon, in trade for selling my books there, positioned on this huge wall – it was a beautiful old building with a tin roof, right next to the Malt Shop S. Mpls. And I met her when a group of us did a rotating playgroup with our pre-schoolers, bartered child care – host one day every 2 weeks and get 4 mornings off.
My Space Wizard business ran a lot on barter. I kept finding clients that couldn’t afford to pay money, but I have some cool paintings by Frank Wenzel (?sp), an Epson printer… Got a lot of good bodywork, Wallace method. More later, I’ll be remembering stuff all day, I bet.
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I remember Dianha’s hair salon – never went in, but I remember when it was there by the Malt Shop (worked one summer at the Malt Shop and grew up in the neighborhood). Can’t remember, though, was the salon there back in the day of Zorka and Ollie’s? I miss Zorka and Ollie’s…they had fabulous sandwiches.
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Yes, I think so, although I don’t remember what year she opened; her husband is one of the original Malt Shop founders, and he started up Zorka & Ollie’s, too –Zorka was his mom’s first name. 🙂 I was there ’90-’93.
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There used to be (and may still be) guidelines in the ethical principles of psychologists regarding bartering with clients for services, but I don’t think I could ever do such a thing. It would muddy the therapist-client relationship boundary in very uncomfortable ways, I believe. In the late 1940’s my mother was very ill and spent 5 months in the hospital. When she was finally able to go home, my parents asked the doctor how much they owed him and the hospital for her care. He asked them how much they had in their chequeing account, (it wasn’t much), and the doctor said to just write him a cheque for what was there and consider the bill paid. My, are things different now!
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Maybe not so very different….I have a high-deductible health plan, but my clinic/hospital accepts whatever is paid by my insurance and doesn’t bill me for the rest. This has been a real lifesaver for me, quite literally.
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That is very refreshing to hear. My agency operates on a sliding fee scale, but it often isn’t enough to make therapy affordable for some people.
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OT – who is it in the studio right now on RH? Don’t recognize the voice – someone interviewing the band “Ellpout”. Is it Mike? When I called MPR the guy on the phone said “he would have to check to see”.
???????
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The band is called Eelpout Stringers.
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And yeah, that was Mike!
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I hadn’t planned to blog today, but Renee’s thoughtful comment changed my mind. There is a sense in which cash exchanges are simpler and more defined than barter exchanges. Traditional cash exchanges highlight who is doing what for whom. Bartering can smudge ethical lines.
For example, great many reporters or writers (travel writers, food writers, outdoor writers) take advantage of their ability to promote a business. A writer can go to some expensive resort, for example, without paying much or anything. The writer then raves about that resort in a story that is used to promote the place. Afterward, everyone might feel that trading hospitality for publicity was beneficial for all.
Or not. The more ethically cautious and professional media outlets worry (with reason) about these deals. Bartering often confuses the issue and teases people into accepting business transactions that look less ethical the more you contemplate them. Bartering can disguise conflicts of interest.
Don’t ask me how I know all of this. 😦
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I’ll bet there’s a good story there, though.
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Testing #2… I am getting weird messages when I try to post… … it’s just been one of those kind of days….
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I sometimes work for Chocolate Chip Cookies. I had one lady tell me ‘Oh, I can do better than that.’ I said ‘No– you didn’t hear me; I said ‘Chocolate Chip Cookies!’ She gave me caramels. They were good but they weren’t homemade chocolate chip cookies….
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I have a great chocolate chip cookie recipe…good to know I can use it for Ben bribes if I ever need to. 😉
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Ben isn’t the only one that can be bribed with home made chocolate chip cookies. They would also work as a Jim bribe. I like the ones made with the Toll House recipe on the bags of chocolate chips, but I certainly would like to try yours, Anne, if you are using another recipe that you like.
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I use the recipe from an old Betty Crocker Boys and Girls Cookbook. It’s a lot like the Tollhouse recipe. Two kinds of sugar, two kinds of fat (butter and shortening)…all kinds of yummy.
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Wouldn’t mind having that one posted… 🙂
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I believe kids are naturals for bartering. I remember doing a lot of deales where I gave up some marbles I had to get some other kinds of marbles that some other kids had that I liked Sports cards and other kinds of cards that came packaged with bubble gum and other places are bartered for by kids. Then there are the bad deals where you find out your kid gave up something valuable to get some flashy cheap item. I can’t remember an example of a bad trade, but know I have heard of a number of these.
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I think you’re right about kids being naturals at this, Jim. It’s how the world worked before we had money as the substitute for value. Not sure if that’s the word I wanted, but you get my drift.
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